Washington (CNN) - A leading grassroots conservative organization and an influential fiscal conservative group say they're making final pushes Thursday to try and defeat House Speaker John Boehner's plan to reduce the nation's debt.

FreedomWorks says it's reaching out to its conservative allies in the House, including lawmakers and their staff, in the hours before the chamber is expected to hold a pivotal vote on the Republican Speaker's proposal.FULL POST

New York (CNNMoney) - Finally, some better news about the job market: the number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits fell below 400,000 for the first time since early April.

There were 398,000 initial unemployment claims filed in the week ended July 23, the Labor Department said Thursday. That marks the first time since April 2, that the weekly initial claims number has fallen below 400,000, a level typically associated with payroll growth and a lower unemployment rate.

"I remain humble and contrite for any statements I have made that might have caused offense to Muslim Americans and their friends," Cain said in a statement Wednesday. "I am truly sorry for any comments that may have betrayed any commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the freedom of religion guaranteed by it."FULL POST

(CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said President Obama would be a "dictator" if he raised the debt ceiling by executive order, using the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution as justification.

"It's Congress that does the spending. The president is prohibited to do that. If he had the power to do that he would effectively be a dictator," the Minnesota Congresswoman said Thursday on CNN's "American Morning." "There would be no reason for Congress to even come to Washington, D.C. He would be making the spending decisions … Clearly that's unconstitutional."FULL POST

CNN: House vote on Republican debt plan set for Thursday
A pivotal vote on House Speaker John Boehner's debt plan is scheduled for Thursday in the House of Representatives, a day after competing plans from Democrats and Republicans were subjected to a fresh round of criticism. …"Get your ass in line," Boehner told his fellow Republicans in the face of divisive infighting over his latest proposal, two GOP sources who attended a Wednesday morning meeting told CNN on condition of not being identified.

CNN: Debt deadlock: Behind the scenes
There is a growing sense among Democratic and Republican Senate leadership aides that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, will be able to get enough votes to get his deficit reduction and debt ceiling increase bill passed. And if that happens, says a Senate GOP leadership aide, "the psychology changes overnight."